As the provincial government pushes for small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) as a potential energy source, SaskPower took time to answer the public’s questions on it.

SaskPower hosted two open houses on Wednesday and gave explanations on what nuclear energy would mean for the province.

People who attended heard from representatives from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, members of its SMR planning technical team, as well as a SaskPower representative who deals with the broader picture of what the power system could look like.

“The questions that we received were very good. A lot of them were in line with questions that we’ve seen in other engagement activities,” says Scott McGregor with SaskPower.

“There were a lot of good discussions. Some people did raise a number of concerns they had with the potential for nuclear power and it’s really important that we hear those concerns.”

McGregor says the majority of questions and concerns were based on waste disposal, job creation, the process of production, community and provincial impact, and much more.

SaskPower and the government of Saskatchewan are only in the consideration stages to see if nuclear power would be a suitable source of energy for the province.

“For us to obtain the necessary licenses to make the decision of whether or not we’re going to proceed with nuclear power, we need to have met the needs of Canada’s very stringent and rigorous standards. It’s certainly something we are working through right now. We’re still very early in our process,” says McGregor.

They’re currently in the site evaluation and site selection process, determining where these nuclear power plants would be located.

“All of this work is to help inform the various impact assessments that we have to do. In different areas, we have a duty of consulting with Indigenous peoples. We do need to apply for a number of licenses through the Federal regulator and once all that work is done, we’ll be in a position where we can make our decision on whether or not we are going to proceed with nuclear power,” says McGregor.

The official decision is expected to be made in 2029 and if it’s confirmed that Saskatchewan will transition to nuclear power, the service of nuclear power will commence in 2034.

If you have any questions or concerns about nuclear power, you can submit your questions through SaskPower’s website.